Friday, February 1, 2013

Lebanon County

This
week our journey by county through the archaeology of Pennsylvania takes us to southeastern
Pennsylvania and Lebanon County. Although
it does not boast extremely large numbers of sites such as Washington,
Lancaster or Westmoreland counties, at one site per 0.68 square miles (based on
the Pennsylvania Archaeological Site Survey (PASS) files), it is ranked third
in the state for site density. It is
mainly situated in the Piedmont physiographic province, but the northern edge
includes the Great Valley and the Ridge and Valley zones. The Swatara Creek is
the main drainage which eventually empties into the Susquehanna River. The
Piedmont landscape is generally a rolling terrain with many small streams. This is reflected in site locations with only
39% of the sites in riverine settings. Lithic resource preferences are typical
for the Piedmont zone, consisting of chert, metarhyolite, jasper, quartz and
quartzite in descending order. Prehistoric sites recorded account for 83% of
the sites, compared to historic sites at just 16%. The rural nature of the county is reflected
in the fact that the majority of the historic sites recorded are characterized
as domestic/farmsteads (88%). The prevalence of farming in Lebanon County has
also contributed to the high rate of discovery and recordation of sites. The
willingness and diligence of key individuals to record these sites with the
PASS files is also an important factor.

Samuel S. Farver and his artifact collection

Although the county contains a
high density of prehistoric sites, few have been systematically excavated.
Nevertheless, the State Museum curates artifacts from this county representing well
over 100 recorded archaeological sites through the efforts of avocational
archaeologists. Jan and Warren Wise recorded a large number of sites from the
eastern side of the county, but the majority were recorded and surface collected
by Samuel S. Farver. This collection of sites
and the associated artifacts is a representative sample of prehistoric
materials from the region. This collection has been utilized in research of
projectile point typologies, but its research potential is limitless. One
possible project could be to characterize sites from all time periods by lithic
material and topographic setting in both the Great Valley and the Piedmont
physiographic zones. We encourage any
students who are interested in an internship or a senior thesis to contact us
via The State Museum to discuss this or additional research projects further.

sample of projectile point assemblage from 36Le4

One of these curated sites is the
Wilheim site (36Le94). A multi-component site situated on the edge of the Great
Valley on a slightly elevated colluvial terrace at the base of Blue Mountain. The collection is dominated by quartzite debitage
and projectile points. Based on diagnostic projectile points, it dates to the
Late Archaic (based on Bare Island, Poplar Island and Lackawaxen points),
Transitional (Koens-Crispin and Snook Kill), and Early Woodland (Fox Creek) periods.
However, the Wilheim site is best known for its Paleoindian occupation. In the
1940’s and 50’s Sam Farver was working with John Witthoft investigating the
Shoop site in nearby Dauphin County. Primarily based on Farver’s intensive
surface collection at the site, Witthoft (1952) published a detailed report. In this report, Witthoft also referenced the
Wilheim site (recorded by Farver) and speculated that the two sites were
related. The Shoop site produced over 6000 artifacts including 92 fluted
points, over 500 endscrapers and hundreds of other Paleoindian flake tools. The
lithic material is Onondaga chert, the source of which is located 250 miles to
the northwest in western New York. The Wilheim site is much smaller, producing
three fluted points, one endscraper and a small collection of flake tools,
mostly in jasper from less than 100 miles away. Witthoft (1952) argued that
Shoop was a major hunting camp occupied by a large band of Paleoindians. The
Wilheim site was used as the large band dispersed into family groups and moved.
Witthoft argued that Shoop was pre-Clovis in age and represented a group that
was slowly migrating south from the Bering Land Bridge.

Paleo-Indian period tools from 36Le94

In a very detailed analysis of the
quartzite industry in the region, Jay Custer (1992) analyzed nine artifact
collections from Lebanon and Lancaster counties. His most detailed analysis involved
material from the Long site (36Le4 and recorded by Samuel Farver). These sites
produced large numbers of early broadspears (Lehigh/Koens-Crispin types) along
with narrow stemmed projectile points. He was able to show that many of these
sites represented the early stages of tool production and were probably close
to a quartzite quarry. Others were a greater distance from the quarry and
represented late stage reduction and the final stages of tool production. However,
both the broadspears and the narrow stemmed points went through the same lithic
reduction sequence. In both cases the goal was to produce large flat flakes
that served as blanks for projectile points and other tools. Custer also argued
that these two point types were contemporary with one another and part of the
same tool kit. The narrow stemmed points functioned as projectile points and
the broadspears functioned as projectile points but also as cutting and prying
tools used in the butchering of animals. Finally, he examined lithic
preferences and argued that beginning in the Late Archaic period, Native
Americans preferred local lithics as long as the source material was large
enough to produce broad flakes. Although quartzite is considered “tuff to work”
it occurs in very large formations that allowed for the production of
broadspears.

Farver
assisted John Witthoft, former State Archaeologist, (Witthoft and Farver 1952) in
the excavation and analysis of two Shenks Ferry sites in Lebanon County; the
Miller site (36Le2) and the Elmer Summy site. The Shenks Ferry culture dates to
the Late Woodland period between AD 1250 and AD 1525 and is defined by a series
of distinctive pottery types. These were an agricultural people, initially
living in hamlets and eventually moving into stockaded villages. The Summy site
is located along the Swatara Creek approximately four acres in size and
underlain with a hardpan that made a controlled excavation impossible. Witthoft
had the field deep plowed and located features while following behind the plow.
Farver is credited with doing most of the field work and was able to identify
twenty-five shallow pit features but no postmolds or burials. The Miller site
was also difficult to excavate. It produced fifteen hearths, seven burials but
no shallow pits features. In terms of domesticated plant foods, Witthoft noted
that Summy only produced beans and Miller only produced corn as evidence of
this early agricultural activity. However, the pottery from both sites was
similar and Witthoft assigned it to the Shenks Ferry Cordmarked and Shenks
Ferry Incised types. Witthoft concludes that the Shenks Ferry culture does not
seem to be related to earlier cultures in the lower Susquehanna Valley but may be
related to “Piedmont Siouan” groups. According to Witthoft, they were
“destroyed and absorbed by the Susquehannocks shortly after the earliest
Europeans penetrated into the coastal area”.

The
lithic resources and gentle landscape that appealed to prehistoric peoples also
attracted colonial settlers to the county.
In 1742 Peter Grubb established the Cornwall Iron Furnace http://www.cornwallironfurnace.org/ which continued to operate as a charcoal cold
blast furnace until 1883. The furnace
underwent extensive updates in the 1850’s and it is this 19th
century furnace which visitors can view today.
Located in a National Historic
Landmark District this site is an excellent example of preservation efforts by
the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC) which accepted the donation
of the property in 1932. Through these
preservation efforts this site serves as the best example of a 19th
century iron furnace complex in America.

Cornwall Iron Furnance

We
hope you have enjoyed this glimpse into the archaeological heritage of Lebanon
County. Hopefully it will inspire you to seek such publications as Susquehanna’s Indians, Prehistoric Cultures
of Eastern Pennsylvania, or any of the numerous journal articles on archaeology
conducted in Lebanon County and published in Pennsylvania Archaeologist.
Understanding and exploring our archaeological heritage is pivotal to
our understanding of human behavior and our ability to change and adapt over
time- just as the peoples of Lebanon County have done for thousands of years.

Bibliography

Custer, Jay

1992 Analysis
of Late Archaic Quartzite Industries from the Long Site and Other Sites of the
Middle Atlantic Piedmont. Pennsylvania
Archaeologist 62(1): 12-47.

Witthoft, John

1952 A
Paleo-Indian site in Eastern Pennsylvania: An Early Hunting Culture. Proceedings of the American Philosophical
Society 96(4): 464-495.

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One Tank Trip

WFMZ-TV 69 from Reading, Pennsylvania visited The State Museum of Pennsylvania on February 8th, 2017. Karin Mallett prepared a feature piece on great places to visit that are one tank of gas from Reading and our gallery was the focus of this visit. Karin interviewed Kurt Carr, Senior Curator and Janet Johnson in the gallery and provide a nice overview of the spectacular exhibits. Please click on the link below and enjoy this glimpse of the museum during this One Tank Trip!
One Tank Trip: Hall of Anthropology and Archaeology

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